Clouds of Witness Part II

Wimsey and Parker start to investigate Cathcart's death, but Gerald keeps insisting that he did not do it. He cannot produce the letter from his old college friend. Peter tries to speak to Mary but she seems ill and hysterical. He is shocked when he finds silver sand of the sort that is in the conservatory, in the laundry chest just outside her room. He feels sure that she is lying about what happened that night and that Gerald is lying too. Then he and Parker find a small charm in the conservatory, a diamond and emerald cat -. It is an expensive trinket, but noone seems to admit to owning it. He thinks that Mary must have been in the conservatory... Next day, Peter, walking on the moors, finds himself at the home of a local farmer, Mr Grimethorpe who is a ferocious, bad tempered middle aged man. He has a much younger, beautiful wife. Grimethorpe lets the dogs loose and Peter makes a hasty exit. Given how jealous the man seems to be, Peter wonders if perhaps Cathcart was having an affair with Mrs Grimethorpe. It could happen that Grimethorpe found out about the affair, followed him back to the Lodge, and killed him. Bunter, on Peter's instructions, tries to find out more about Lady Mary, by flirting with her maid. Ellen tells the valet that Lady Mary wasn't all that fond of Cathcart. She thinks Mary is selfish and that she had only become engaged to him when her brother Gerald had put his foot down about her relationship with George Goyles, a socialist activist. Ellen is decidedly contemptuous of Mary's interest in socialism. She doesn't believe that Mary had learned much about real life during her time working as a nurse in the War. The maid finds her young lady moody and bad tempered. She does not think that she is grieving over much about Denis. She only wanted to marry him, to get away from home. Ellen also mentions something that leads to Peter discovering that Mary had knelt in blood. There is a large bloodstain on one of her skirts.